I am a graduate of a Professional Umpiring School. I have umpired myself for both High School and College. The umpiring is hurting the young pitching of today. There are many strikes being called balls forcing the pitchers to throw more pitches than what is needed.

I am a graduate of a Professional Umpiring School. I have umpired myself for both High School and College. The umpiring is hurting the young pitching of today. There are many strikes being called balls forcing the pitchers to throw more pitches than what is needed.

Look at Lester for example: He had Freeman struck out.

I think you have it backwards. Umpires are calling them as tightly as possible (to shorten the games, in case you haven't heard). I didn't see any of Lester's complaints as being valid ones.

Just read the above. AN EXPERT shares his/her opinion and as usual RS fans as non experts argue against it. Which is their right but IMO questions should have been asked before saying an expert is wrong.

BTW I say expert and am giving the poster the benefit of the doubt that he/she was a good umpire. After all the first and last in class are still called umpires.

I have a question for the first poster. Knowing that not all umpires call the game the same way on what do you base your theory other than your experience? Are you saying they are not calling strikes in the strike zone or the close ones? Are vets (like Lester) getting preference over kids (like Doubrant)?

Going to umpiring school does not make the OP any more of an expert than a regular fan who watches a lot of games. In general I do agree with the idea that umpires should have a liberal strike zone, and I get really mad when a "strike" (defined by that box we see superimposed on the screen) is called a ball. But a so-called expert should know that balls and strikes are the hardest things to get right, especially low pitches and away pitches that around the corners. Why? Because the umpires view is obstructed by the catcher. Rare is the umpire who gets balls and strikes right. And let's not forget that the home plate job is rotated, in large part because it is also more dangerous and therefore by far the most difficult position.

My big objection to the OP is his apparent belief that Lester was getting squeezed last night, and I emphatically disagree with that. Lester was his own worst enemy, not the ump. However, I do give Lester credit for going 6 innings and only giving up 3 runs. Not great, but, based on recent starts, a breakthrough of sorts.

Last night was entirely on Lester, not the ump. Lester was the one who walked the opposing pitcher. Right now almost every Sox starter has control problems, and none of them has an effective changeup.

The issue last night was the inconsistency on Davidson's part. Those 2 strikes on Ortiz in the 1st were bad calls. The second strike was almost Davidson saying, you didn't like the 1st one, here's another. Then, all of a sudden, neither of those pitches was a strike for either pitcher. Then they were. There were a couple of pitches on Ross late that were called strikes (which was fine), but neither Lester nor Harang had gotten those calls earlier.

All pitchers and hitters want is consistency in the strike zone for a given game. They can adjust to the ball 2 inches outside being a strike so long as it's always called that way. It's the back and forth that drives them crazy.

Going to umpiring school does not make the OP any more of an expert than a regular fan who watches a lot of games. In general I do agree with the idea that umpires should have a liberal strike zone, and I get really mad when a "strike" (defined by that box we see superimposed on the screen) is called a ball. But a so-called expert should know that balls and strikes are the hardest things to get right, especially low pitches and away pitches that around the corners. Why? Because the umpires view is obstructed by the catcher. Rare is the umpire who gets balls and strikes right. And let's not forget that the home plate job is rotated, in large part because it is also more dangerous and therefore by far the most difficult position.

My big objection to the OP is his apparent belief that Lester was getting squeezed last night, and I emphatically disagree with that. Lester was his own worst enemy, not the ump. However, I do give Lester credit for going 6 innings and only giving up 3 runs. Not great, but, based on recent starts, a breakthrough of sorts.

I think Lester was getting squeezed, but part of that was his own location issues. Still, as I said above, Davidson's strike zone seemed all over the place last night for both Lester and Harang.

I don't see the issue as whether Lester was being squeezed last night or not. I see the issue as being the poor job the guy behind the plate wearing the mask (as he well should have been!) was doing. This time the KZone showed that a borderline pitch is a strike, the next time it was a ball. The guy was all over the place. And it wasn't just against Lester. He was an equal opportunity offender!

Those of us who are at least semi-serious about baseball know that an entire game can hinge on one call. From the point of view of a pitcher or a hitter there's a BIG difference between a 3-1 count and a 2-2 count and that difference can be one called strike. Lester. as a pitcher, should be able to be confident that if a borderline pitch is a strike on one pitch it should be on the next pitch - and that wasn't the case last night. Lester became visibly frustrated and IMO he had a right to be. The good news is that rather than having the emotional melt-downs that he had in past years he challenged that frustration into making better pitches.

All that pitchers and hitters want from an umpire is consistency. They want to know what is - and isn't - going to be called a strike, and the umpire in last night's game failed miserably in that.

Having the right to do something doesn't make it the right thing to do.

I am a graduate of a Professional Umpiring School. I have umpired myself for both High School and College. The umpiring is hurting the young pitching of today. There are many strikes being called balls forcing the pitchers to throw more pitches than what is needed.

Look at Lester for example: He had Freeman struck out.

Hey mister pro umpire.. Ive seen more pitches outside the strike zone being called strikes ? whats up with that ? Let us all know when you make your fenway park debate.

Last night was entirely on Lester, not the ump. Lester was the one who walked the opposing pitcher. Right now almost every Sox starter has control problems, and none of them has an effective changeup.

The issue last night was the inconsistency on Davidson's part. Those 2 strikes on Ortiz in the 1st were bad calls. The second strike was almost Davidson saying, you didn't like the 1st one, here's another. Then, all of a sudden, neither of those pitches was a strike for either pitcher. Then they were. There were a couple of pitches on Ross late that were called strikes (which was fine), but neither Lester nor Harang had gotten those calls earlier.

All pitchers and hitters want is consistency in the strike zone for a given game. They can adjust to the ball 2 inches outside being a strike so long as it's always called that way. It's the back and forth that drives them crazy.

Just read the above. AN EXPERT shares his/her opinion and as usual RS fans as non experts argue against it. Which is their right but IMO questions should have been asked before saying an expert is wrong.

BTW I say expert and am giving the poster the benefit of the doubt that he/she was a good umpire. After all the first and last in class are still called umpires.

I have a question for the first poster. Knowing that not all umpires call the game the same way on what do you base your theory other than your experience? Are you saying they are not calling strikes in the strike zone or the close ones? Are vets (like Lester) getting preference over kids (like Doubrant)?

LOVE my Red Sox, Bs, Cs, Pats and enjoy the ride every year.

So he/she is an "expert" because they claim to be?

You do realize this is the internet, right?

Or do you believe that the girl you've been chatting with online for the last year really is a 24 yr old blue eyed blonde with 36 C's that loves older men?

I am a graduate of a Professional Umpiring School. I have umpired myself for both High School and College. The umpiring is hurting the young pitching of today. There are many strikes being called balls forcing the pitchers to throw more pitches than what is needed.

Look at Lester for example: He had Freeman struck out.

works both ways. The sox get calls that benefit them. I would like to see the umpires cut down on the number of time outs which players call at the plate.